All the Bright Places Essay Questions

How does the novel's form contribute to the story's meaning?

The chapters are written from the alternating perspectives of Finch and Violet. This allows us to be in the mindset of both characters, and ultimately to afford them both empathy, which is a main philosophical concern of the novel. Since the novel is also a love story, switching back and forth between their points of view also ramps up the romantic tension. Finch is given the very first chapter, and at the beginning it seems like his voice is the dominant one in the narrative. This starts to change, however, as the book goes on; as Violet gains more strength in the book, her voice gains more strength in the novel. By the end, we are hearing only her voice, and it is her voice that we end on. The chapters are also marked with sub-headings. For most of the book, Finch is counting the days he is Awake, and Violet is counting down the days until graduation. In both cases, this exemplifies how their pain has co-opted their sense of time and become the organizing principle of their lives. When the headings change, both of them have reoriented their lives so that time is marked by happier events.

How does the idea of secrecy play out in the novel? Why are things kept secret?

Finch is a very secretive person. To outsiders, such as his peers who call him a freak, this is often perceived as a strange thing, but it also gives him an air of mystery that some people find intriguing—Violet finds him mysterious, for instance, and in school he has a kind of cult personality, with lots of stories following behind him. But keeping secrets isn't necessarily a good thing; at least part of it is trauma response for Finch: the less people know, the less they can hurt him, and, he believes, the less he can hurt them. Even with Violet, who knows him the best of anyone, Finch persists in keeping up a wall. He refuses to show her the dark parts of himself, because he thinks they will scare her away, or that they will harm her. It makes sense why Finch wants to keep things secret—he has been so many times by people meant to protect him—but the result is actually a kind of self-sabotage. Violet, Mr. Embry, his friends, his sisters—all of them would want to help if he only let them in.

How is trauma explored in the novel?

Trauma is defined as an emotional response to a terrible event. It can have short-term and long-term effects, and people often have both. Both Violet and Finch have trauma, but they experience them differently, which sheds light on the fact that no two people will react the same way to tragic events. For Violet, the trauma of losing Eleanor manifests in guilt for being the surviving sister. The past has a vice-grip on her, causing her to sabotage her present and feel nothing about her future. Eventually, Violet is able to reach a point of acceptance and heal that trauma, allowing her to move forward. For Finch, it is more complex, only in the sense that his trauma doesn't stem from one definable event. Rather, Finch's trauma comes from years of physical and emotional abuse from his father, as well as bullying from his peers and neglect from his mother. Finch, unlike Violet, also has the added layer of a mood disorder, which makes it difficult for him to manage his emotions anyway. Niven paints a solid picture of someone with layers of trauma, who has closed himself off so much, but is harboring so much pain, that he can't see any way out other than death.

What moral lessons does the novel have to teach us?

All the Bright Places deals with themes of loss, guilt, mental illness and family; the two main characters have dealt with loss in their lives, which strengthens their connection. The main message of the book is about understanding that everyone is going through something, and that everyone deals with their experiences differently. Niven shows the reader that despite the behavior that an individual displays to the outside world, they may still be going through inner conflict that everyone else is completely unaware of. Finch is seemingly cool and collected until we are given further insight into his mind. It is not until the end of the book that we truly get an idea of his suffering to the extent at which he could no longer live. Because of the personality Finch portrays to the outside world, his death comes as a shock to most readers, demonstrating that anyone can put on a "brave face" and still be dealing with inner turmoil and personal conflicts.

What is Finch's Great Manifesto? Does he achieve it?

Finch thinks about a Great Manifesto because of one of his literary heroes, the Italian poet and novelist Cesare Pavese. He writes: "Love is truly the great manifesto; the urge to be, to count for something, and, if death must come, to die valiantly, with acclamation—in short, to remain a memory.” A manifesto is a declaration of intentions, so really the Great Manifesto is Finch's intentions for his life. He wants to count for something; he wants to live a meaningful life. And if he does die, he wants to remain alive in memory. The fact that he helped Violet through her grief, and that he loved her—and showed her love—is all the evidence needed to prove that he did in fact achieve his manifesto. There was a lot of unknowns about Finch, but his love for Violet wasn't one of them. At the end of the novel, when Violet gives him his own epitaph, she says herself that he will never die, not really, because he will "always be here, in the offerings and people [he] left behind."